Increased number of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has also heightened interest in finding and providing appropriate interventions. Early intervention is implemented at the moment when deviations are noticed, without waiting for an official diagnosis. Parents are crucial participants in interventions carried out with children; therefore, this research considers interventions focused on training parents to work with children with ASD up to the age of six. For the purposes of this paper, we searched the following journals: Autism, Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, and Research in Autism. The search was limited to editions from 2012 to 2022, and the following keywords were considered: parent training, early intervention, autism. References were searched manually. The initial search yielded a total of 992 articles. Twenty-four studies related to children up to six years old and involving parent training in early intervention were included in the analysis. Using a tool for assessing quantitative studies, the selected studies were evaluated, with each component assessed based on the information contained in the study as good, moderate, or weak. The overall rating for the paper can be strong, moderate, or weak. This paper highlights the importance of support to enhance parental competencies.

Izvršne funkcije (IF) su svrsihodne ka cilju usmjerene aktivnosti. Razvojni profil djeteta predškolske dobi kreira se procjenom kroz pet razvojnih područja: kognitivno, komunikacijsko, socioemocionalno, fizičko i adaptivno ponašanje. Cilj ovog istraživanje je utvrditi uticaj različitih komponenti IF na razvojne domene djece sa poteškoćama u razvoju predškolske dobi (DPR) i uporediti ih sa djecom neurotipičnog razvoja (DTR), te ispitati uticaj socioekonomskog statusa porodice na razvoj IF. Metode: Uzorak je obuhvatio 120 djece iz redovnnih i specijaliziranih predškolskih ustanova iz Bosne i Hercegovine. Starosna dob djece je pet i šest godina. Socioekonoomski status je ispitan kroz stručnu spremu roditelja i uzorak čine roditelji DPR i to 28 roditelja sa visokom stručnom spremom (VSS) i 32 roditelja sa srednjom stručnom spremom (SSS), te roditelji DTR 25 roditelja sa VSS i 35 roditelja sa SSS. Instrumenti: Profili djece ispitani su Razvojnom procjenom male djece (Developmental Assessment of Young Children, DAYC-2, Swartmiller 2014), a izvršne funkcije pomoću predškolske verzije Inventara za procjenu izvršnih funkcija (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions; BRIEF-a, Giola et al., 2003). Dobijeni rezultati ukazuju na postojanje značajno nižih statističkih povezanosti IF sa domenima razvoja kod DPR u odnosu na TPR. Kod DPR postoji statistički značajna povezanost u korist roditelja sa VSS u komponentama: preusmjeravanje (t=-2,53; p=0,01), emocionalna kontrola (t=-2,46; p=0,01), a kod DTR inhibicija (t=2,26; p=0,02), emocionalna kontrola (t=2,26; p=0,05) i radna memorija (t=2,51; p=0,01). Zaključak: Istraživanje pokazuju različitu povezanost IF i razvojnih domena kod DPR i DTR. Djeca višeg socioekonomskog statusa pokazuju povezanost sa više komponenti IF.

Autistic children often have difficulties in executive functions (EF). These difficulties can, in turn, affect their everyday functioning. It is less clear in what way EF are affected by the severity of autism symptoms in children. We hypothesize that autism severity level does not have the same effect across the different components of EF. In this study, we examined how EF are affected by the autism severity level in a sample of 52 autistic children aged 4–7 years (mean age‐ 5.4 years, SD‐ 0.9 years). EF were measured through teachers' reports on the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions‐ Preschool Version. Autism severity level was measured with the Social Communication Questionnaire‐ Current Form. The results of this study showed that autism severity level impacted two EF, namely Planning and Working memory, and did not affect three EF components: Inhibition, Shifting, and Emotional Control. These results indicate that the cool or cognitive EF are more affected by autism severity level than hot EF. We conclude the article with suggestions for improving EF in autistic children.

ABSTRACT Executive functions (EF) play a key role in child’s development as they are necessary prerequisites for everyday functioning and later academic success. Much research has been directed at examining whether EF are unidimensional or multidimensional construct. In this study, we tested two theoretically driven models and one mathematically driven EF model based on the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions – Preschool Edition (BRIEF-P). The sample for this study consisted of 102 children with intellectual disability (77 boys, 25 girls), aged 40–71 months (mean age- 62.1 months, SD- 7.6 months). Early childhood special education teachers completed the BRIEF-P Teacher Version. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used to assess the validity of different EF models. The original BRIEF-P, with a second-order, three-factor model and one-factor model were not a good fit to the data. Mathematically driven one-factor model, with the addition of correlated errors between the scales of working memory and shift, and working memory and plan/organize was a good model fit. The current study indicates that EF differentiation begins to emerge at preschool age in children with intellectual disabilities. Understanding EF structure in children with intellectual disability will help create better intervention programs for this population.

ntroduction: Sleep is one of the most important components of overall health. Children with developmental disabilities are at a higher risk of having sleep problems. Purpose: The goal of the present study is to compare sleep patterns of children with developmental disabilities with those of typically developing children. In particular, we examined whether children with an intellectual disability (ID), children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing children differ in sleep duration, number of night’s waking, screen time (time spent on smartphones, tablets, TV), and outdoor activities. Methods: The sample for this study consisted of 114 children (34 children with ASD, 40 children with ID and 40 typically developing children) aged 2 to 14 years (mean age= 6.4 years, SD = 3.0). Information on children’s sleep patterns was obtained through an online survey completed by the parents of the children. We also collected information regarding the strategies parents use to settle their children for sleep, as well as information regarding screen time and outdoor activities. Results: The results of this study indicate that sleep duration was shortest for children with ID and longest for children without developmental disabilities. Another finding in this study is that screen time and not the outdoor activities was associated with sleep duration. Children with ASD were more likely to use melatonin to fall asleep, while the children with ID were more likely to use medications. Conclusion: Children with ID have shorter sleep duration than children with ASD and typically developing children. Parents have several cognitive and behavioural strategies at their disposal to improve their children’s sleep.

Executive functions (EF) play a crucial role in overall human functioning. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often have EF deficits. The goal of this study was to examine EF and developmental domains in preschool children with ASD. The sample for this study comprised 32 children (27 boys, mean age 65.3 months, SD- 4.0 months) with ASD. The control group consisted of 32 typically developing children (16 boys, mean age 64.3 months, SD- 5.1 months). EF were assessed with Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function and developmental domains were assessed with the Developmental Assessment of Young Children. The results of this study indicated that children with ASD do not have uneven EF and developmental profiles, although the EF and developmental domains scores were more heterogeneous than in typically developing children. Children with ASD had substantially lower EF and developmental scores than typically developing children. Implications of these results are discussed.

Abstract The goal of the present study was to examine the predictors of reading speed and reading comprehension in third-grade students from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH). The sample consisted of 168 third-grade students (86 boys, 82 girls) attending regular schools in Canton Sarajevo, BIH. We examined the effects of phonological awareness (phoneme deletion and rhyming), rapid automatized naming (RAN) of letters and objects, semantic fluency, working memory, and processing speed, on three reading speed tasks and a reading comprehension task. For the reading speed tasks, total amount of explained variance was 33% for reading a text passage, 40% for word reading and 36% for pseudoword reading. The most important predictors of reading speed tasks were phoneme deletion task and RAN: Letters. On the other hand, the model explaining reading comprehension was much less predictive and explained about 11% of variance. Significant predictors of reading comprehension were working memory and processing speed. The results of this study are very informative in creating better models of reading. This in turn will help create better reading intervention programs and potentially reduce the number of children with reading disabilities.

Background: Evaluating academic production and researchers’ impact has become a common practice in many areas of academic life. Researchers are being evaluated for many purposes such as getting employment, promotion, tenure and winning grants. Achieving full objectivity of the evaluation is a rather difficult, if not the impossible task. The goal of the present paper was to evaluate research performance of scholars from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH and to propose a single number that captures several scientometric indices. Methods: We took data from 303 scholars from 4 public universities in BiH on their number of citations and h-indexes derived from four databases/services: Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar and Research Gate. In addition to this, we performed a Principal Component Analysis of number of citations and h-indexes from these indices to come up with a single number that best captures the scientific impact of the researchers. Results: The results of this study indicate a strong relationship between all indices of scholarly achievement as measured through citations and h-indexes. Principal component analysis has shown that it is possible to obtain a single number that captures researchers’ scientific impact. Conclusion: Many metrics can be useful in evaluating researchers’ scientific impact. As the researchers in BiH have a low scientific production, universities in BiH need to adapt a strategy to stimulate the increase in their scientific productivity.

Learning to read is one of the most important academic accomplishments in the early grades of elementary school. Knowing what factors contribute to reading ability would improve instructional practices. The goal of the present study was to examine the effects of semantic fluency, phonological fluency, rapid naming, inhibitory control, selective attention, and visual motor integration on reading fluency in 140 second and third grade students. The results of this study indicated that significant predictors of reading fluency were: selective attention, semantic fluency, inhibitory control, and rapid naming. However, the association between predictor variables and reading fluency was moderated by the students’ grade. The article concludes with some suggestions on how to improve reading fluency in elementary school children, given that all predictors are susceptible to instruction.